Asha WinfieldAsha S. Winfield 

Assistant Professor, Doris Darden II Professor | 215 Hodges Hall | 225-578-7621 | aswinfield@lsu.edu | CV

Biography

Asha S. Winfield, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. Winfield is a critical/cultural media scholar with a focus on the stories (creation, rituals and practices) of Black individuals and groups occurring in the media, culture and society. As a researcher and filmmaker, she aims to use intersectionality, counternarratives, critical race theory and Black feminist thought to frame and center the experiences of Black people as they relate to audience reception through meaning-making and identity-making.

Winfield’s research seeks to investigate and make space for diverse Black stories inside and around the media and community. Her work has been published in Health Communication, Women’s Studies in Communication, several book chapters and digital research forums like InMedia Res. Her documentary, Black Experiences with COVID-19, Media, Mourning & Faith, is set to be released in 2022. Additionally, her documentary on Black women barbers inside of Black historical barbershops is still in development.

Winfield is a 2012 graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and a 2015 graduate of the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. She earned a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2021. Her dissertation, "I Don't See Myself": Exploring Reception To Hollywood’s Construction Of Memory Through Black Women’s Biopics, explores Black women’s silhouetted representation in Hollywood’s version of history and frames new concepts like “intersectional call and response” and the “Black living room pedagogy” where learning Black history is shaped by Black memories and storytellers. 

Winfield is also the founder and director of the research group The Storytellers Lab at LSU. This group of academic storytellers utilizes qualitative research (community-based, participatory, photovoice and video voice research) in concert with documentary filmmakers to share the cultural and historical narratives of everyday people in different contexts.

Selected Publications

Winfield, A.S. (2021). (forthcoming/in press) The Making of A Black American Quilt: Discussing the Threads of the Strong Black Woman Image Through Family Narratives &  Media Storytelling, Resilience: Black Women And Public Health. SUNY Press. Edited by Kisha B. Holden, PhD and Camara P. Jones, PhD. 

Winfield, A. S. (2021, February 12). Black History, Gospel Music & Something Like Black Girl Magic In Lovecraft Country. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from http://mediacommons.org/imr/content/black-history-gospel-music-something-black-girl-magic-lovecraft-country 

Winfield, A. S. (2021). (forthcoming) Reclaiming Our Time: Using Black Biopics To See Black Women, In Black Identities and Media. Louisiana State University Press.  Edited by Dr. David Stamps and Dr. Sheryl Haydel. 

Ramasubramanian, S., Winfield, A., & Riewestahl, E. (2020). Positive stereotypes and counter-stereotypes: Examining their effects on prejudice reduction and favorable intergroup relations. Media Stereotypes: Ageism to Xenophobia. Edited by Andrew C. Billings and Scott Parrott. Peter Lang: New York. https://doi.org/10.3726/b15280 

Winfield, A. S. (2020). Body, Blood, and Brilliance: A Black Woman’s Battle for Loud Healing and Strength. Health Communication, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1826656 

Winfield, A. S. (2020, September 18). “That Actually Happened” or Blackness, Comics & Edutainment: Another Look At HBO’s Watchmen [Web log post]. 

Winfield , A. S. (2020, February 4). A New Blerd?: Recognizing and Reimagining the Brilliant Black Girl Image Through Spike Lee’s “See You Yesterday.” Retrieved from http://mediacommons.org/imr/content/new-blerd-recognizing-and-reimagining-brilliant-black-girl-image-through-spike-lee’s-“see 

Winfield, A. S., & Ramasubramanian, S. (2019). Colorism & Catfish(ing): Online Deception, Romantic Relationships, and the Effects of Skin Tone Bias in Catfish, The TV Show. Retrieved from http://mediacommons.org/imr/content/colorism-catfishing-online-deception-romantic-relationships-and-effects-skin-tone-bias  

Joseph, J. L., & Winfield, A. S. (2019). Reclaiming Our Time: Asserting the Logic of Intersectionality in Media Studies. Women’s Studies in Communication, 1–4. http://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2019.1682914